We all deal with a little anxiety from time to time. It’s just a part of life, and a natural way to react to stress and pressure. A little anxiety from time to time isn’t such a bad thing. It can often motivate us to complete a task or solve a problem that we’ve been avoiding. It’s when anxiety becomes our constant companion that we should start to be concerned, as it may indicate more significant issues at play. Services, like the anxiety counseling program in FL, help individuals diagnose and treat their anxiety disorders.
Anxiety, in the medical sense, is a term that applies to a broad range of different types of issues, known as anxiety disorders. It’s the most commonly diagnosed mental issue in the United States, affecting more than 40 million Americans each year, and generally can be effectively treated with therapy, medication, or a combination of both.
If you’re asking yourself, “Do I have anxiety?”, we’re here to help you answer that question.
Signs of An Anxiety Disorder
How do you tell a bit of garden-variety worry from an anxiety disorder? Worry is usually temporary and attached to specific events or circumstances. Clinical anxiety is a lasting, unprovoked, or overwhelming sense of nervousness or fear. Specific anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and panic disorder.
Symptoms of anxiety will differ from person to person, but in general, they can include:
- A feeling of fear or worry
- Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
- Lack of focus
- Restlessness
- Irritability
- Shallow breathing
- Variable heart rate
Individual disorders may come with specific symptoms. For instance, panic disorders are typified by panic attacks, which are brief but intense periods of overwhelming fear. OCD sufferers often create elaborate rituals that provide momentary relief from uncontrollable, intrusive thoughts. Generalized anxiety order creates unfounded worry about everyday concerns like money and health.
Why Am I Anxious?
If you’re wondering, “Do I have anxiety?” it’s a good idea to examine what might be worrying you. What reasons do you have to feel anxious, scared, nervous, or otherwise ill-at-ease? We all have things that bug us from time to time. But if the feeling is persistent or unprovoked, it merits some consideration. A few potential causes of anxiety are:
- Environment: A stressful home life or a toxic work environment can often trigger anxiety. Left unchecked, it can develop into a more significant problem.
- Genetics: Anxiety can be passed from generation to generation. You’re more likely to suffer from anxiety if family members are also prone to the condition.
- Hormones: Your nervous system uses a variety of chemicals to regulate your mood, including testosterone, cortisol, estrogen, and adrenaline. An imbalance in any one of them can bring on anxiety.
- Withdrawal: During the process of detoxification from drug or alcohol use, people often experience anxiety as a side effect. Detoxing with medical assistance can help lessen the duration and intensity of this and other unpleasant sensations.
Treating Anxiety
Given the variety of possible causes of anxiety, it should come as no surprise that there’s no universal method to deal with it. However, most types of anxiety respond well to medication, therapy, or both.
As mentioned above, there is a chemical component of anxiety, which makes medication therapy management in FL an obvious choice for treatment. Anti-anxiety medications like Prozac and Celexa help maintain proper balance among the brain’s neurotransmitters. For conditions with more concentrated symptoms, like panic disorder, a faster-acting medication is needed, such as Xanax or Klonopin.
There are also a host of options for therapy, the most common being cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT concentrates on changing illogical or misguided behaviors to create different outcomes. Other methods include exposure therapy, meditation, and good old-fashioned exercise.
Remedy Therapy
Are you still wondering, “Do I have anxiety?” If so, we’re here to help. At Remedy Therapy, we understand the toll that constant worry can take on your daily life, and know-how to put things right again. We have the expertise, the experience, and the flexibility to create a program of treatment specifically for you. Don’t let anxiety continue to weigh you down, contact Remedy Therapy. Let us help take you to new heights. Call 561.414.2607 now.
